The
1970s was such a great decade for horror films that several major
gems have gotten lost in the shuffle and some great filmmakers with
them. In the case of some great directors, auteurs like Scorsese,
Coppola and Kubrick have become favored over some others who are also
excellent filmmakers who were either also auteurs (Alain Resnais,
Michael Cimino) or extremely brilliant journeymen whose influence
(Bob Clark, John Frankenheimer, John Badham) has often been as
strong. Larry Cohen is a great filmmaker who, at his best, has
fallen between the two. His It's
Alive
trilogy is as daring, bold and challenging as Romero's original
zombie trilogy and if Q
- The Winged Serpent
was not attacked for its visual effects as much as it was, people
would realize it is one of the best giant monster movies ever made.

The
original It's
Alive
was a huge, surprise hit, playing theaters almost as long a Jaws
(though the first year was as a limited independent release that kept
building a reputation and Cohen was already known for the great
Sci-Fi/Horror TV series The
Invaders)
so it is no surprise he would try to come up with yet something
seemingly familiar, yet totally creepy and original. It's
Alive
was far from being just another Rosemary's
Baby
rip-off andGod
Told Me To
(1976, aka Demon)
is the boldest entry in the cycle of horror films that included
possible demonic possession and forces of supernatural evil quietly
arriving to destroy us all. It could go more than a few rounds with
The
Exorcist
and The
Omen
anytime, yet is long overdue for rediscovery, even with its loyal
cult following and strong fan base.

The
underrated Tony Lo Bianco is a police detective who becomes the
primary investigator when a man starts shooting people from a water
tower to death sniper-style for no good reason. The detective risks
his life to try and help the man and find out why he has senselessly
killed so many people all of the sudden, gets no real answer before
he jumps to his death. When more (then) shocking, senseless murders
happen, they share the one common denominator that the killers all
say 'God told me to'. This especially rubs out Catholic
detective the wrong way, who actually goes to church every day.

As
he continues to investigate, he starts to realize it is not drugs,
brainwashing, hypnotism or a cult, but a force so unique and
disturbing that no one would otherwise believe it. However, he is
suddenly onto the truth and the results are so sick, twisted and
amazing that even you'll be surprised. I can say that even with the
several films and TV shows that were at least partly inspired by this
underrated masterwork, a remarkable film made on such a small budget
that it would be impossible to get it made today at many times the
price. Yet, it looks great and often throughout with real character,
atmosphere and does partly imitate a documentary style that works to
its advantage (Lo Bianco was in Friedkin's French Connection,
so the intertextual use of actors starts with him and runs to many
veterans, as noted by the late, great Robin Wood in his landmark film
book Hollywood - From Vietnam To Reagan And Beyond (reviewed
elsewhere on this site), yet the film is so much its own tale of
terror in its own world with its own unique density that there is
nothing else like it.

It
was always oddly chilling and effective, then it turns out it has
aged in odd, weird, strange ways that only have increased its power
and sense of the bizarre. A then-unknown Andy Kaufmann has a wild
turn you'll love, Sandy Dennis and Deborah Raffin (both who also
deserve to be better-known) are solid here and the supporting cast
that also includes Sylvia Sydney, Sam Levene, Richard Lynch and Mason
Adams among others only adds to its atmosphere. I have more to say
about this film than usual since I enjoy it so much and its time for
serious rediscovery is long overdue, so I'll quit here as not to ruin
any more surprises, but God Told
Me To is at least a
serious genre classic that even exceeds its genre and that is more
than enough to put it on your must-see list, especially if you are a
serious film fan.

The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer can show the
age of the materials used, particularly in the stock footage Cohen
used to save money and was more common practice at the time, but is
amazing about this transfer is (like Criterion's sadly out of print
Man Who Fell To Earth from the same year) is that the larger a
screen you see it on, the more detail you see and this deceptively
exceptional transfer (the grain is accurate throughout) is as color
rich as it is warm and fully realized like a mint film print that was
forgotten in an attic and stayed fresh, stable and unfaded for about
40 years!

Director
of Photography Paul Glickman, a soon-to-be Cohen veteran who also
lensed the infamously bad 1971 Al Adamson howler Dracula
Vs. Frankenstein
and a few episodes of Roald Dahl's Tales
Of the Unexpected,
shoots his frames very big screen to make it involving while still
managing to create a sense of claustrophobia where applicable. Only
one dark shot was problematic, but this is a remarkable 4K scan from
the original 35mm camera negative and is up there with the best
Criterion, Twilight Time and Arrow UK transfers of late.

The
film was a theatrical monophonic release, but the three soundtracks
we get here are all upgrades of that sound. Best of the three is the
sometimes surprisingly effective DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1
lossless mix that shows off the Frank Cordell music score very well
and has the least amount of harmonic distortion and compression ever
for the film, making it the best way to hear it. Purists can choose
a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 lossless Mono mix that is also
somewhat cleaned up, but actually masks some of the sounds in its
mix. Finally we get a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix from the old
DVD that lacks the warmth of both DTS-MA versions and has more
background noise due to being an older remaster, but some might like
it, though it is no match for the DTS 7.1 mix, which is a fine act of
sound restoration for an independent production.

Extras
include a vintage feature length audio commentary track by Cohen and
fellow filmmaker & collaborator William Lustig (they made the
underrated Uncle
Sam
and Maniac
Cop
together, both reviewed elsewhere on this site as well), Original
Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Poster & Still Gallery, two
vintage interview clips with Cohen and a movie audience (God
Told Me To Bone
at the New Beverly Q&A and Lincoln Center Q&A) and two
interview featurettes: Heaven
& Hell On Earth
with lead star Tony Lo Bianco and Bloody
Good Times
with the underrated make-up artist Steve Neill.